Instant Rice Idli

Soft and fluffy Instant Rice Idli (steamed cakes) prepared with rice flour and lentil flour. No soaking or fermentation required!! A famous South Indian delicacy!!

Idlis are in constant demand in my household and preparing them right at that moment is never possible. Earlier like everyone, I used to soak dal and rice separately, ground them very finely and then wait anxiously for it to ferment. But now, I have stopped doing this, I love idlis so why wait that long? Just like my homemade uttapam mix, came up with a magic homemade Instant Rice Idli mix and since then I am preparing idlis in a jiffy.

It’s very easy to make and no soaking or fermentation required. Yeah, you heard me right – no soaking or fermentation – Instant idlis ready in 30 minutes. Sharing my all time favorite, quick and easy instant rice idli recipe. A real savior and a foolproof recipe that has never failed me. 🙂

RECIPE DETAIL – Having unexpected guests for dinner – no worries, prepare the batter and create moist and soft idlis in a jiffy. Enjoy warm idlis with hot sambar and coconut chutney.

Prepare homemade idli mix by combining the flours and spices. Poha has to measured after grinding. This mix can be prepared in advance and stored in airtight container. When ready to use, mix in the ingredients required to prepare batter and there you have it – Instant rice idli batter.

Lemon Juice – No. I have experimented with lemon juice and the one that gave me good results is citric acid and Eno combo. Eno and citric acid together creates a fizzy reaction which is very important for fluffy idlis. Lemon juice fails to do that.

✔After mixing eno and citric acid to the batter – can we store it? Yes, you can – but only for a day in your refrigerator.

✔Can you store the dry mix? Yes you can, without adding Eno and citric acid.

Do give this recipe a try like many others have with successful outcomes . And if you happen to make this, do drop me a line below or share your yummy picture @facebookwith me. Would love to see your creation!!

Instant Rice Idli

Votes: 39
Rating: 3.72
You:

Rate this recipe!

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Soft and fluffy instant idlis (steamed cakes) prepared with rice flour and lentil flour. No soaking or fermentation required!! A famous South Indian delicacy!!

Servings

Prep Time

50IDLIS

10MINUTES

Cook Time

10-12MINUTES

Servings

Prep Time

50IDLIS

10MINUTES

Cook Time

10-12MINUTES

Instant Rice Idli

Votes: 39
Rating: 3.72
You:

Rate this recipe!

Print Recipe

Soft and fluffy instant idlis (steamed cakes) prepared with rice flour and lentil flour. No soaking or fermentation required!! A famous South Indian delicacy!!

Servings

Prep Time

50IDLIS

10MINUTES

Cook Time

10-12MINUTES

Servings

Prep Time

50IDLIS

10MINUTES

Cook Time

10-12MINUTES

INGREDIENTS

1/2cupGrounded Poha, (flattened rice)

2cupRice flour(store bought)

1cupUrad dal flour(store bought)

1teaspoonFenugreek seeds powder

2teaspoonSalt

1/2teaspoonCitric acid

1.5teaspoonEno (fruit Salt)

3 -4cupWater (may need extra)

CHANGE SERVING SIZE: IDLIS

CHANGE UNITS:

METHOD

Measure Poha..

In a mixer, grind poha to its powdered form. Poha has to measured after grinding.

Assemble flours. You can either use store bought flours or grind them at home.

In a bowl, mix both the flours, grounded poha, salt and fenugreek seed powder.

Mix it well and homemade idli mix is ready.

Assemble rest of the ingredients.

Add enough water to make a thick batter.For me it was appx. 4.5 cups of water. So add slowly and gradually. Too much water will make flat and sticky idlis. Batter should be of thick dropping consistency.

Add citric acid.

Add Eno..

Mix it well. Batter will become frothy and bubbly.

Heat water in a large pan. Grease idli moulds.

Spoon batter in idli moulds.

Cover and steam idlis for 10-12 minutes.

Steamed idlis are ready..

Remove from the water pan..

Let it cool.

Run a knife all around idlis and they will pop right out of their moulds.

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163 Responses

Thank you for the trouble you have taken to refine this recipe and thank you for all the experimentation that went into getting the result you have presented here.

And judging from your answers to all the many unnecessary questions here, you have patience to match your intelligence and unfailing good manners.

I was just at the point of getting a wet-grinder from Amazon when it occurred to me to find out if idlis could be made with ready-made rice flour and ready-made urad flour when my good fortune led me to your site.

1) I have an unopened package of rice flour, but it appears to be plain rice and not idli rice. Can I use this?

2) Somewhere in my pantry I have some idli flour of uncertain vintage stored in an airtight container – can I use it?

3) or should I grind fresh whole (sabut) urad or split urad?

I just ordered citric acid from ebay and I plan to try your recipe as soon as it arrives. Why eat rice when I could have idli!

Thanks for your kind words. Glad you found the recipe helpful. Now onto your query –
1) I have an unopened package of rice flour, but it appears to be plain rice and not idli rice. Can I use this? If it’s plain rice flour – sure you can use that.
2) Somewhere in my pantry I have some idli flour of uncertain vintage stored in an airtight container – can I use it?
3) or should I grind fresh whole (sabut) urad or split urad? Please grind white urad dal for this recipe.
Thanks!

I have tried all possible variations and the one that gave these idlis a perfect fluff was citric acid and Eno combo. Eno and citric acid together creates a fizzy reaction which is very important for fluffy idlis. Lemon juice and curd will fail to do that.

Fantastic idea Ruchi. I used to buy idli batter from the Indian stores and they always come out hard. Today I added citric acid and eno to the batter and the idles came out very soft. Thanks a bunch. You rock!

Thanks for trying the recipe Noel. I am glad it worked well for you.
Fenugreek seeds helps to aid fermentation which results in softer idlis. So skipping it would affect the end results. Yes, the color of idlis do change slightly because of fenugreek seeds.
From what I know Eno is not sweet. What flavor of Eno did you use?

Hi,
We are a franco tamil cultural centre of Pondicherry and we are writting an article about idlis in Tamil Nadu. We would like to ask you if we could use one of your picture (the one of the 21th step of your recipe) to put it along our article with your name above ?
Thank your for your answer
Sita

Prachi, I have experimented with lemon juice and it didn’t give me great results. It’s clearly stated in the recipe “I have experimented with lemon juice and the one that gave me good results is citric acid and Eno combo. Eno and citric acid together creates a fizzy reaction which is very important for fluffy idlis. Lemon juice fails to do that.”
I wouldn’t suggest lemon juice.

Hello PY, as stated in the recipe I have tried with all possible combinations and the one that gave me perfect results was eno + citric acid combination. Eno and citric acid together creates a fizzy reaction which is very important for fluffy idlis. Please refer to my notes mentioned in the post.

Hi Ruchi,
I got excited when I saw your recipe as I could never get idli right. Followed your recipe just a few minutes ago. The idlis came out flat and sticky (I was so sad). All the ingredients were from brand new store bought packages except for the rice flour. I had an opened pack so used it. Could that have been the culprit for my flat and sticky idlis? Would appreciate your thoughts on what I could do.

Dharma, I’m sorry to hear that this recipe did not turn out the way you had imagined. It is really important for me that you enjoy the recipe the way I do and many others who have tested and tried it.
1. A pre-opened bag of rice flour should not be an issue until it is 6 months old.
2. Did you add both citric acid and eno?
3. Was their a fizz reaction when eno was added to the batter?
4. How much water did you add to the batter? If the batter was of a thin consistency than it will make flat sticky idlis.

I hope you give this recipe a try again with a more successful outcome next time. 🙂

hi Ruchi! Loved the idea of instant idlis, it was just what I was looking for. However, where I am currently located I don’t get urad dal. Can you recommend a substitute for urad dal? Chana dal is also rarely found here. Would really be of great help. I’m craving for idlis and dosas!!

My apologies for a delayed response. Devasya, I have tried all the possible combinations and the ones that works the best for instant idlis are mentioned in the recipe. Please read my notes added in the main post.

Hi ruchi, my son is really fond of idli and dosa…I’m really very thankful to u for giving me such an instant method of preparing idlis…..thanks to u once again.please share the recipe for preparing dosa also.

Can’t understand your next question? Are you referring to this – After mixing eno and citric acid to the batter – can you store the batter in the fridge? Yes. you can. In fact I have always done that. The very next day I made idlis and they turned out perfect.

Thanks for your kind words Ashwini! Glad you liked the recipe. At this point nothing can be done dear, a powdered dal cannot be washed so go ahead with the recipe.Unless you plan to use a fresh batch and start all over again. If you happen to make this recipe do share some pics with me at https://www.facebook.com/ruchiskitchen/

Thanks for stopping by Yogi! I have not experimented this recipe with rava so can’t say how the idlis will turn out with idli rava. This recipe uses rice and urad dal as main ingredients, if possible try grinding them at home.

Tried this and was very impressed. Well written and explained nicely. My idlis were perfect. I have failed so many times and my batter never fermented but now I have my hands on to a perfect recipe. Its a keeper. Many thanks for sharing!

Thanks for trying the recipe Nilesh. The only possible reason that I could see are –
1. Adding too much fenugreek seeds will result in a change of color.
2. Did you grind the dal at home, if so which dal did you use? Was it the urad dal with skin? That could be another reason.
Hope that helps!

Thanks Priyanka! I have experimented this recipe only with citric acid and eno combination. Citric acid is easily available in your local Indian grocery stores. It goes by the name of Nimbu ke phool or citric acid.

Hi Ruchi,
Can we make the batter with this mix and allow it to ferment overnight and then use it in the morning?
I am a little lazy to grind the idly batter each time, so this mix wuld be helpful . I guess if we ferment it this way we need not add eno and citric acid combo ? Let me know if you’ve tried this.

Chaitra, I personally have not tried it but a reader tried my recipe and she had done the same way as you suggested. She avoided eno and citric acid and fermented the batter overnight and got great results. Feel free to experiment and share your feedback and pics. 🙂

Hey Ruchi !! Thanks a lot for the recipe ! The Idlis turned out to be really good . I would admit that I did not put citric acid as I dint have it and had already made sambhar and chutney 😛 so was left with no option than to take the risk ! and guess what !! idlis were good ! (north Indian family wont find the difference so much anyways ..lol )
A big hug to u.

Ruchi, thank you for a fantastic recipe. I just tried it out and it turned out better than any other recipe I’ve tried so far. My husband and I were very pleased with the results. Again, thank you so much.

hey Ruchi, tried the recipe again.. came out awesome. 2 questions:
1. last time i had used same measurements only differnce the eno sache was a pre opened one. this time i used fresh packet. could that have caused any issue?
2. how do u get lump free batter? as soon as i start adding water, the flours just get hardened n i have t struggle hard to remove lumps

Glad to hear that Dhirja! Thanks for trying the recipe! Yes, a previously opened packet of Eno will result in sticky and flat idlis. For a lump free batter, keep adding water a little at a time and start whisking until you have a smooth consistency. Hope that answers your query!!

Hi ruchi,
Awesome recipe. First try the idles were perfect. Second time I mafpde the batter, the idles seem to be sticky, like when batter doesn’t ferment well. I still have 1 day old batter. Any fix can be done? Like more eno or citric acid?

How do i grind the dal to make a dal flour cos i need to fist wash it and once i do that i will not be able to make a dry mixture. Pls help .Also if there is any quality brand and store in gurgaon from where i can buy it. Not able to get daal flour. Thanks its a wonderful recipe.

Thanks for stopping by Neha!! Urad dal flour is readily available in Indian markets. I have no idea about Gurgoan but you can find at any supermarket in flour section. If you choose to grind it at home then – wash and drain all the water from the dal. Lay a large kitchen paper towel on the counter, spread the wet dal and leave it overnight. Grind it in the morning.

Hi Ruchi, I tried this recipe but unfortunately it came out very sticky and did not have the grainy or spongy texture like the original idli recipe. The taste is good. I also added grated carrots, peas and whole cumin.

Sorry to hear about that Bharti. This is my fail proof recipe and has never disappointed me. Let’s walk through the whole process.
1. Did you use the Eno and citric acid combo?
2. Was their a fizz reaction when eno was added to the batter?

Don’t be disheartened, I would suggest please try making plain idlis and you will surely get great results.

Thanks for stopping by Sri Vidhya!! Mix is a combo of rice flour and urad dal flour which I think is okay for babies but if you are concerned about Eno and citric acid – I would strongly recommend checking it with your physician or pediatrics.

Thanks for stopping by Anubha!! Unfortunately no, Citric acid and Eno combo results in soft and light idlis. Please refer to the recipe, I have updated all the combos I have tried to make this recipe successful. 🙂

Tulika, dry idli mix can be stored in an airtight container but the batter needs to be stored in the fridge. It can stay in fridge for 3-4 days and in freezer for a 1 month or more. Only if it lasts that long. 🙂

Hi Ruchi,great recipe,will def try it.
I usually buy the store bought batter,as I make idli’s n dosa once a week,was just wondering if u have ever made dosa/uttapam with this idli mix.
Once again thanks a lot.
Have a great day!!

Thanks for stopping by Shriya!! Yes, you can make Urad dal flour at home. Ground dal in a mixer to its powdered form. Strain the grounded dal through a strainer and use the powdered dal for the recipe. Rice flour means – rice atta. Hope that answers your query!!